0

I saw a similar question but that is very negative: Is there a word for someone who tends to find faults in others?

I am looking for a term for someone who has the skills to determine the main problems, who can look at complex systems and point out the (main) flaws and (ideally) has the moral integrity to keep personal advantages out of her judgement and the guts to voice his opinion.

The word could be a noun, a verb or even an adjective:

  • they called in a <....> to help analyze the problem
  • Alice was very good at <...>, so she was uninvited from the meeting because hearing the truth was not what they wanted.

The "outsider" from the Disney Method does fit here, but I guess if people are not familiar with the method, the word would have a very misleading meaning.

I guess, a "consultant" is someone who does this, but the term is a bit too broad.

If there is no word for this, a phrase would be useful here, as well.

Improve this question

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
2

Upon searching synonyms for 'problem-solver,' which doesn't have the negative connotation that 'problem-finder' or 'nitpicker' have, and selecting thesaurus.com, the website takes on 'problem-solving' as an adjective and proceeds to offer synonyms for the same. From here, there are a lot of options that may fit the bill as a noun with a little tweaking. For example:

They called in diagnostics to help analyse the problem.

Or,

They called in an analytical person/mind to help break down the problem. (see: example 1, definition 3 of 'analytic' on Merriam-Webster)

As a phrase/adjective, you may want to use one of the following:

Alice was (very good at sniffing out problems/quite questioning in nature), so she was uninvited from the meeting because hearing the truth was not what they wanted.

Or,

Alice was known to be (adept at locating the finer points of an issue/quite perceptive when it came to failures in complex systems), so they called her in for a consultation.

Or,

Alice could (pinpoint the issue/place her finger on the problem) almost instantly, so they called her in to help analyse this recent failure.

I also agree with @M i ech, troubleshooting and iterations constructive criticism and insight may also fit.

In my word hunt, I found no specific word for what you're looking for, but I hope the above suggestions may help you.

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    Thank you to all the contributors. Never expected to get so many answers so fast!
    – Sybille Peters
    Mar 7, 2019 at 18:53
  • Happy to help! :)
    – When The Dust Settles
    Mar 9, 2019 at 13:10
2

How about a troubleshooter?

Verb "Troubleshooting" seems to describe what you intend to convey, and someone good at troubleshooting will be troubleshooter.

Alternatively, you can try using phrases like "constructive criticism" (kind of criticism you are referring to) and "insight" (ability to comprehend complex systems and see their cause-effect relations) to describe the person.

Improve this answer
1

You already used the verb "analyze" in one of your examples, and I do think "analyst" fits best. The noun form of the action described is "analysis".

The word could be a noun, a verb or even an adjective:

they called in an <analyst> to help analyze the problem

Alice was very good at <analysis>, so she was uninvited from the meeting because hearing the truth was not what they wanted.

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/analyst

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/analysis

Improve this answer
0

A reviler is someone who points to the negative side or questions good intentions with bad. They criticize in an angry abusive way

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    You'd improve the answer by including a link to an authoritative dictionary definition of the word.
    – KillingTime
    Aug 10, 2022 at 12:48
  • @Melissa Thank you for your answer. But "angy abusive" way sounds very negative and that is now what was asked here.
    – Sybille Peters
    Aug 10, 2022 at 13:00

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.